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Oct 13, 2010

How to Process Garri

Garri is a common meal eaten in Nigeria and parts of West Africa. A meal of garri, commonly known as eba, is made by adding the right quantity of garri into boiled water. The garri absorbs the water to become a solid material. It is then eaten with soup that could be okro, egusi, vegetable, banga or any soup of choice.

Garri is actually granulated cassava. The process of making it starts from peeling the cassava. The peeled cassava is then shredded into tiny particles using a suitable machine that could be the rough edges of holes made on a metal sheet using a nail. This is done by running the peeled tubers of cassava against the rough edges of the holes which chops the cassava gradually.

The next phase of the process is to empty the wet cassava granules into porous bags whose ends are tied firmly. The bags are then held firmly in compressors for about a day. The tight grips of the compressors force the water out through the pores of the bags.

The next step is to further dehydrate the material by frying it in large pans. After frying, the garri is then spread on large mats to enable the evaporation of last traces of water.

There are two types of garri found in the market. These are the white and yellow garri. The yellow garri is a derivative of the white one made by simply adding red oil during the frying phase in the garri processing.